Police nab on-the-run dirt biker

A Quincy man trying to outrun police on a dirt bike Tuesday failed when he ran smack into – you guessed it – two police cruisers.
Daniel Amaya, 41, is charged with eluding law enforcement officials, possession of meth and possession of a stolen vehicle.
After running into the police cruiser, causing him to slide into a second, Amaya was treated and released from Quincy Valley Medical Center and headed to the Grant County jail, said Sgt. Chris Lafferty of the Quincy Police Department.
The incident started close to 1 p.m. on Tuesday in the southeast portion of the city when a Quincy officer, driving past Amaya, noticed the dirt bike driver was acting suspiciously. The dirt bike, a 1987 Honda PTR 200, also was unlicensed and not street legal, Lafferty said.
When the officer attempted to pull Amaya over, he sped off, reaching high rates of speed, Lafferty said. Amaya, in his efforts to run from police, allegedly was riding along the canal and through people’s yards. Children at recess at Pioneer Elementary School were called into the school on a “secure building” alert as a matter of precaution.
Four officers were in pursuit of Amaya; however, the pursuit was called off at one point for the public’s safety, Lafferty said.
Amaya was apprehended as he was driving southbound on 1st Avenue Southeast, at the M Street Southeast intersection.
At the intersection, he struck the front corner of a police car driven by Officer Mark Pannek. The collision caused the motorcycle to rotate onto its side, sliding into another police car driven by Lafferty, according to a report from the Washington State Patrol. Both officers were traveling eastbound on M Street Southeast.
The dirt bike was destroyed, according to the WSP.